Dredge



y 1943' H. H. HOPKINS ET AL DREDGE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 0m. 2s, 1940 H. H. HOPKINS ET AL DREEGE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BYG y 1943- H. H. HOPKINS ET AL 2,325,134

DREDGE Filed Oct. 23, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented July 27, 1943 .DREDGE H rbe H kin a s'i a, nd: can i Becker,

Application October 23, 19d0 ,-'Seri al;No. sea-348 1 Claims.

shown incur Patent 2,091,279; issued iugust 31," 137, and is particularly concerned with dredges which are designed and constructed to obviate the necessity of using an endless chain of dredging buckets. Dredges of; the present type utilize-a dipper, which'includesa' chute through which the excavated material is discharged; In dredges of this nature it is of importance to apply the force to the dipper in such a Way that a maximum leverage is available for ex 2 cave-ting the subaqueous material and forv lifting it to a discharging position. It isalso important-that each load of excavated material be completely, or as completely as possible, disiznportantto mount the dipper inaway which 7 will facilitate its ready operation throughout its entire range despite adverse excavating conditions.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide a dredge'in which the force for'moving the dipper is applied with a favorable me:

chanical advantage.

Another object of our invention is to provide a dredge in Which'the material adequately sluioed out.

A furth r object of our invention is to provide a dredge dipper mounting which is capable charged from the excavating dipper in order to make way for subsequent material. It is also 571 Our-invention relates to dredges of the type 1;

'a-d-ip-per is slidably disposed. Thedipp'erlis operated 'by a plurality ofcables, at least one-of which'passes from the; dipper to a winch mechanism over a sheaverona travelling carriage arranged to occupy positions to increase-the mechanical advantagelof the cable "and -'to permit the dipper in its uppermost position automatically to trip san arrangement for releasing aguantity of flushing water-through the. dipper itself,- order-Qto transien-al-l of the excavated f material therefrom to the-classifying and value saving mechanism. locatedon -the dre'dge."

enrdredge -is especial1yuseful in connection with machines of relativelypsmall capacity, for example; having a dippersize of approximately one or two; cubic yards, --and. arranged to be,

readily transported by being fabricated in rela- 'tively small sections. Ther-'e is no speciallimiin the dipper is.

of trouble-free and long-continued satisfactory 5':

use.

A further object of our-invention is to-provide a dredge which is a general improvement over dredges of the type heretofore known.

Other objects will be set forth in connection with a description or" the invention, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 'iln the drawings: a

Fig. l is a side elevation, a portion being'in .cradleis mountedbyta piiiotal..connection .16 on section; of a dredge constructed in accordanc'e 1 with our invention, parts being broken away to reduce the size of the figure; 3

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, part being broken away to disclose in section on a longitudinal :a tapered bow andchaving .a "reentrant "8, Within whicha dipper 9 isrnovable.

-tation--to"-,thesesizes althoughcornmercial em bodiments have-found success-in thissize range. In the usual i instance, the dredge operates .upon a pond fiand-comprisesafloat orbarge I, constructed in any convenient fashion; substantially in -the usual --shape .of-Lbarges, that is "tofisayi,

being approximately rectangular... in. plan; with portion Dhe dipper ii comprises at itsfleadingfedgea plurality of serrated' teeth l.i.-.fastened.. on to thedipper-body t2; which :is. U.r-sh'aped-in;. cross-. --sectiorr and smoothly, .merges with a similarly shaped-dipper handle i2, which ilatterconstitutes i a chute. Ifhischute :is slidably fitted within a cradle M, having across section similarto but sli htlylarger:than. that of the chute vfor free mechanicaltranslationwithrespectthereto. ..The

:the.'framework;..generaily. designated IT, which is aupstanding from the charge. :1]... The size. andlar -.rangernentof the dipper ,9. with respect to the .cradle id are :suchthat while part .of;the,ine

side-wallsnfthe. cradle maybe exposed when plane the forward portion ofcour dredge drawn to an enlarged scale.v

Fig. 3 is a partial plan of our dredgetshowing the forward portion thereof, part being shown in cross-section on a horizontal plane.

.Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation showing the dipper and carriage latch;

.thedipper e ;is completely projected, nevertheiess whenthe dipper is -in discharging=r position the dipper handleor chutegoverlies-theinterior .wallsofthenradle toiafiord protection for what ever lubricant there. may be .thereupQn to. assist V ithesliding'movement. This isquiteimpprtant 1 since if. any .oiL-is washed: tori sluiced: overboard into-the pond Eit eventually. fiIIdS.;itS ay back into theamalgamatingor savingtablesand gross-:-

In its preferred form the dredge of our invention comprises a barge or -float, having. a

pivoted cradle mounted thereon, within which 1 y ou-ts Ii down :ghe Lrecovery of values. or. gold; In orderto move theelipper 9,.there-is attached thereto by -a fastening 1 8 a haul-back cable 19 which extends from the dipper 'body .12 under- I scoping movement radially inward of 22 from the engine23.

neath the dipper handle to a haul-back drum 21 located substantially amidships. While no attempt has been made herein to show in detail the substantially standard control mechanisms for the various operating instrumentalities, the haul-back drum 21 is connected by. gearing and shafting 22 to a source of power such as an engine 23, which is likewise mounted amidships.

The shafting 22 also drives winches 25 operating th various bow and stern lines which are controlled in the usual way to position the barge .l.

When the haul-back cable i9 is tensioned the dipper 9 is caused to slide'telescopically within.

the cradle l4 so as toreduce the radial distance between the pivot axis l8 and; the excavating teeth ii. This is the position usually occupied by the dipper when the cradle IT is in substaned in a carriage 28. A bail and single cable can] be used, but. the present constructionis equally advantageous. The carriage has" rollers 29 to guide it on'uprig'ht channels 3| disposed at the forward end of the barge land forming part of theframework ii; I Thechannels 3t are parallel but are inclined rearwardly so'thatptheir upper At this time the excavating rial therefrom throughout the length of the dip-- per and handle.

the guide rails 3|, the dipper handle [3 is telescoped with the cradle I l and projects from the farend thereof so that none of the interior of the lubricated cradle is exposed.

As the dipper arrives at its uppermost position a projection 4| on the carriage operates a lever =2 connected to a valve 43 mounted on the framework it. Th valve is then opened to release a large supply of water either from a pipe line or from a' storage tank 45 to discharge forcefully through nozzles -35 into the interior of the dipper body H2 in order to sluice the excavated mate- By providing the tank 44 it is possible to utilize a constantly operating pump with a relatively small supply line and to accumulate between the cycles of operation of the dipper 9 sufiicient water to provide a thorough clearing out of all the tank arrangement, however, a small size pumpworking constantly and efficiently affords a large body of flushing water effective to wash the excavated material from the dipper body preferably ends are somewhat aft of their-lower ends. 1 The hoist cables 25 are carried over sheaves 32 at the top of the framework I1 and then pass around f guide sheaves 33 to extend to one or, more wind: ing drums 34 drivenbyth shafting and gearing In order that the .carriagejzfi will its lowermost effective position while actual excavation is going on it .is=latched' or locked in lowermost positio'n by a two-part latch including a latch lever 35 counterweightedand pivoted on apin 36 to engage aprojection 3'1 on the carriage 28. The lever 35 is tripped by. a counterweighted lever 38 engaged by a projection-39 at the side of the'dipper body 12. Thus while the dipper is excavating between .its'substantially verticallowermost' position and its partially inclined position adjacent the surface of the pond 6 as shown in Figure 1, the latch'35 is efiective V to hold the carriage in lowermost position so that remain in:

down through the dipper handle I3 and into a transitiontrough at leading to a rotating screen it. Upon the discharge of the material from the elevated dipper the hoist ropes 26 are released. and the dipper descends to a substantially verti-- .cal positicn. As it passes the lower portion of the rails 3: it leaves the carriage 28 which relatches in its lowermost position ready for thev next cycle.

'To cushion the shock of intermittently re ceived material, the revolving screen 47 rests upon rubber-faced rollers 43 which are mounted on drive shafts 49 disposed at each side of the revolving screen and both of which are connected together to be driven from the engine 23. With: this arrangement it is feasible to use the rubbar-faced rollers 48. The rollers are wet by the water pouring through the screen and, being rubber, their co-e icient of friction thereon is;

not high. However, by connecting all of the: rollers 38 together for driving in unison adequate driving force to revolve the screen is: aiforded. In this way, consequently, we provide a cushioned mounting for the screen, yot trans? the hoist cables iil'eiitend substantially atright angles-to the dipper and the force exerted upon the dipper is exerted with maximum eifect at substantially a right angle thereto. Excavation ;is therefore carried on with an efficient and ecolatch lever 35 clockwisel as seen in Figure 4) so that th carriage 23'is released. Continuedor I further tension upon the hoisting cables 25 causes the loaded-dipper to abut the carriage and to causethe carriage and dipper to rise as a unit until the-uppermost position isachieved. This has beenjraised to -the barge.

znit adequate rotative force thereto.

On the interior. of the screen there is providerfl a plurality of nozzles 55 which receive Water through a conduit 52 connected to a pump 53' driven by the engine 23so that the usual wash? ing and separating process occurs in the screen. 5-7. The fines together with 'the values pass. through the screen into a plurality of sluices 54,, the finetailings from which flow from tail sluices til over'the stern of the barge l. The tail sluices; 5'! are supported by cables 53 from a boom 59. ona superstructure 6i rising from the stern of.

l The coarse material which does not pass through the apertures in the screen d! is assisted: therethrough by a reinforced rubber spiral secured to and revolving with the interior of the position is indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2; Q

screen, and finally passes through a transition: piece 53 to a stacker belt 64 operating on stackerladder 66 likewise suspended by cables 61 from. the boom 59. The stacker belt 64 itself is preferably driven from the engine. 23 so that all of thepoweron the barge is, derivedfrom the cen:

tral engine 23. The coarse material carried by the stacker belt 64 is dischargedover the end thereof at the top of a tailings pile 68 adjacent the margin of the pond 6.

In accordance with this invention therefore, we provide a dredge in which the force is applied to the dipper with a considerable mechanical advantage, in which the dipper itself is moved throughout its path by means of asliding connection to a pivotally supported cradle insuch a way that the lubrication of the sliding memhers is not detrimental, and 'also one in which the supply of sluicing water is economically and adequately provided. a We claim: I 1. A dredge comprising a barge having a superstructure thereon, a cradle pivotally mounted on said superstructure, a dipper having a chute slidably mounted in said cradle, a carriage guided on said superstructure to rise and fall, and

a cable secured to said dipper andttrained around said carriage for sliding said dipper withmoving said dipper into abutment with said car-' riage, means on said dipper for unlatching said carriage from said position, means for ejecting water into said dipper, and means on said carriage for actuating said ejecting means.

Y for ejecting'water into said' dipper. V,

4. A dredge comp-rising a barge having a susuperstructure between a lower position and'an upper position, a dipper mounted on said superstructure to swing between, excavating positions separate from said carriage and discharging positions in abutment with said carriage, means for operating said dipper separately and together 7 with said carriage, and means operated by said dippe and said carriage in "said upperposition' a erstructure thereon, a cradle pivotally mounted on said superstructure, a dipperhaving a chute slidably mounted in said cradle, means for guidxing the end of said dipper opposite to said cradle in substantially a straight path, anda'cable for lifting said end of said dipper in said path and simultaneously sliding said chute in said cradle.

5. A dredge comprising a barge having a superstructure, a carriage, 'rails on said superstructure to guide said carriage for rising and falling movement on said superstructure; a chute-like dipper pivotally andslidably mounted onsaid superstructure, means for Isoinounting the dipper pivoted on said superstructure and slidably engaging said dipperfin'a position to be protected fromr receiving 'm'aterial discharged, v from said dipper and a cable trained around said carriage and fastened to said dipper for moving said dipper separately and inlunisonwith said carriage.

HERBERT H. HOPKINS. GUS EV BECKER.

3. A dredge comprising-albarge having a superstructure, a carriage adapted to run on said 

